Wolfless Hybrid: The Awakened Witch.

Maya's POV 







"What the hell are you doing in here?" an angry voice snapped from behind me. I cursed silently. Not having my wolf meant no early warning that he was coming back. A heads-up would have been helpful. By then, I had already stuffed the money and documents from the hidden safe into my duffle bag. Thankfully, he never knew there had been nearly fifty grand stashed here when he moved in. The safe was shut, locked, and hidden beneath the rug again. He had no idea what I had come for, and I had no intention of telling him.







That money belonged to my family. I was reclaiming what was rightfully my sisters' and mine. "I just wanted to visit my parents again," I said, rising slowly to face him. "I still miss them."







"Did you forget this isn't your home anymore?" he shot back. "Do you usually break into houses? I didn't give you permission to be here. And I know damn well the place was locked when I left. So how exactly did you get in?" His voice rose with each question as he scanned the room, searching for signs of damage or disturbance. I held up my hand, the key dangling from my keychain. "With this. I just wanted to say goodbye to my father one last time. That's why I was in his office. I didn't touch anything of yours. I won't come back. Here's my key," I said evenly.







"Your father didn't want you here anymore. Even I know that, and I'm still new to the pack," Trey sneered. "Once it was clear you were wolfless, nobody wanted you. You're a drain on resources. You eat our food and offer nothing in return. Don't pretend you don't know you're useless. What you need is a man willing to protect you, if you can even find one. "You're the lowest of the low in this pack. The only thing you've got going for you is your looks. I wouldn't mind a quick taste, but I sure as hell wouldn't claim you. Still, since you were so nice to walk right in, no one has to know."







He stepped toward me. I immediately took a large step back and moved to the other side of my father's desk. "No, thank you, Trey. I'm not interested in you. I'll leave my spare key right here on the desk. I'm leaving now," I said, keeping my voice steady despite the disgust crawling under my skin. His eyes roamed over me, and I felt sick. I needed to get out, and fast.







"I know Damien wants you, but one little taste won't hurt," Trey said, stalking closer. I kept the desk between us, inching toward the door. As I turned to bolt through it, I felt his claw slash into my left calf. Pain exploded down my leg as I screamed and collapsed, his grip locking me in place. I could feel the damage Trey was doing to my leg, tearing through muscle and tendon as he pinned me down. He crept closer with a sick smirk.







"I don't care what you want, witch," he spat. "I just want a little taste to tide me over, until Damien 's done with you or knocks you up. Then I'll get my turn," he said, raising a clawed finger and slicing through the fabric of my shirt and bra.







He was so focused on me he didn't notice my sister until it was too late. Lauren slammed her fist into the side of his head, knocking him out cold. He collapsed on top of me, his claws retracting as unconsciousness took him. Together, we shoved his body aside, and she pulled me to my feet, helping me out to our parents' SUV.







It was real now. The plan was in motion. We were either escaping... or being dragged into lives with men we despised.







Lauren opened the back door, flipped the seat forward, and helped me lie down in the third row. Meliza, my other sister, was already hidden, curled up on the floorboard of the second row. If we got caught, she and Lauren would have to fight. I was no help now, exactly why I volunteered to grab the money.







I knew Trey had a meeting this morning with Gamma Zach and Alpha Damien . He must have returned early, probably forgotten something. Damien loved hearing himself talk; his meetings never lasted just five minutes.







I refused to consider this might be a setup. I peeled off the ruined bra and shirt, replacing them with a clean T-shirt from my duffle. I wouldn't risk being exposed if this went wrong, I wanted to be ready. We had to go. I would rather die than live under Damien 's control.







Fear gripped me as we approached the pack gate. My heart thundered. Meliza and I stayed silent as Lauren rolled down the window to greet the guard. "Hey Dan, can you open the gate for me? I need to pick up a package for the Luna," Lauren said casually. "Sure, Lauren," he replied, walking over to open both sides of the gate.







The pack had money, why hadn't they upgraded this ancient gate? We looked embarrassingly low-tech.







"See you when you get back, Lauren. Be safe," Dan called. "Thanks, Dan. Take care, I'll see you soon," she replied, rolling up the window as we pulled forward.







This was it, the moment of truth. She drove slowly, not drawing attention. I watched through the gap in the seat; she kept one eye on the rearview mirror. None of us breathed until she said, "The gate is closed." She had been worried Dan might scent Meliza, since she was a wolf, or pick up on my bleeding. Luckily, Lauren was trusted and well-liked by everyone.







We had cleared the first hurdle, but we weren't safe yet. Someone would come looking for Trey soon. When they did, they would know we were gone. We had not even rejected the pack yet. Lauren said to wait thirty minutes before doing it, enough time to put distance between us and them. Doing it now might only alert them faster.







"Meliza, grab a piece of paper and write this down," Lauren ordered. Meliza sat up and began jotting everything Lauren said. Though Lauren was the middle child, she had always been our protector. She rattled off a list of medical supplies, and Meliza scribbled it all down. To strangers, 







Lauren might seem cold and harsh. But we knew better, she was loving, fierce, and loyal. Right now, she was in what I called battle mode. She wouldn't relax until we were safe. She would walk through fire for us, and I was grateful. If we survived this, it would be because of her. Right now, I only trusted my sisters.







"Meliza, tear the list in half so we can split up and get everything faster. Grab some money from Maya, we'll need at least a hundred dollars to cover it all. Take your half of the list, and I'll take mine. We'll meet at the register," Lauren instructed as she pulled into a local store.







"Maya, once I stop, I'll flip the seat forward so you can try to climb into the back. I know you're in a lot of pain. If you can't manage it, we'll help you when we get back. I'm so sorry you got hurt, but Meliza will treat and wrap your leg while I drive. We've got to move quickly, they will come after us," she added, her voice tight with urgency.







After parking, Lauren flipped the seat forward for me, then gently brushed a hand through my hair. "I love you, Maya. Everything's going to be okay. I just can't relax until I know we're all safe. We still need to fill up the SUV, and we need to hit the road fast." Then she closed the door and hurried into the store.







I was drenched in sweat from the pain, but I wouldn't let it stop me. Sometimes, I wished I had a wolf. If I did, she would have already started healing the wound, maybe even dulled the agony. I hated that my younger sisters had to rescue me. I wasn't weak, but I felt like I was. As the oldest, I was supposed to protect them, not the other way around. But I couldn't. I was a hybrid, half wolf, half witch. My mother left me behind. My father was the Beta of our pack, the Blackwood Pack.







Lauren and Meliza returned quickly. Meliza opened the door, flipped the seat back, and climbed in to tend to my injury. Lauren pulled the SUV up to a gas station and went inside to pay. She came back with a small bag of snacks and drinks for us.







Once Meliza finished wrapping my leg, she climbed into the front passenger seat. "Lie down, Maya. We'll drive a couple hundred miles before we ditch this SUV. I don't want them tracking us by it," Lauren said as she started the engine. I lay down, exhaustion pressing in. My leg throbbed with each heartbeat, but I let my eyes drift shut. Sleep came fitfully, my mind praying to the Goddess that we would make it to the next phase of our escape.

Maya's POV 







I felt weak as we ran toward the train station, blood still trickling down my leg. That was what was draining me. This was our third, and hopefully final, change of transportation for the next several hours. We had just gotten off a bus wed been stuck on for hours. I knew I was slowing my sisters down, and the guilt was eating at me. They refused to leave me behind, but if I was the reason we got caught, I would never forgive myself.







Pushing through the pain, I forced my legs to move faster. If they caught us, our futures would be over, stolen and shattered. My sister Lauren had said we would fight to the death before going back. That only reminded me how I was the weakest of us. As we reached the terminal, Lauren ran ahead to buy our tickets while Meliza helped me through the crowd.







We arrived minutes later, Meliza keeping a firm arm around my waist. I prayed my black jeans were hiding the blood. I just needed to sit down and stop the bleeding. A part of me wanted to sneak into the restroom and tend to the wound properly, but there was no time. Lauren was already motioning for us to follow her. She was right, we couldn't afford any delays. The trackers would be coming. Alpha Damien wouldn't let me go.







His obsession with me had only intensified after our parents died last month. I was never his to claim, yet he pursued me relentlessly. His Luna, Kayla, was another nightmare. She had hated me for at least five years, maybe longer. She pretended well, like most in the pack did. But I never belonged. My father was the only reason I had a place at all. As Blackwood Packs Beta, he had Alpha blood, and no one dared to cross him.







He never wanted to lead, just to protect. He preferred training warriors and spending time with his family. He had fallen in love with my mother, a witch named Ciara, who lived peacefully in the forest. Witches don't find mates the way wolves do. There was no magical bond, just love. She resisted it, but she loved him back.







When I was two, Dad went away for a special training. He returned with Helen, already marked. That betrayal broke my mother. He marked Helen before facing her, knowing she had beg him to change his mind. Helen was the daughter of the Alpha hosting the training. She had little standing and left easily with her new mate.







My mother wanted to take me with her. She said she could already feel my magic and knew I was a witch. She couldn't sense a wolf in me. But my father called her a liar. He threatened her, said she would be hunted if she tried to take me. He swore I would be safer with him. She left crying, and never came back. Everything I learned about her came from our Omega cook, my nanny, the only one who treated me like I mattered.







Helen wasn't cruel, just distant. She favored her daughters, and I reminded her of what my father had before her. His love for my mother cast a long shadow. After I failed to phase at eighteen, Dad gave up on me. He never said it aloud, but the regret was clear in his eyes. He wished he had let my mother take me. But by then, it was sixteen years too late. She never wrote. Never called. Never tried. I was left to suffer among wolves who never saw me as one of their own.







Only my sisters saw me as equal. They never treated me like less. Lauren, only fourteen when I turned sixteen, had always protected me. She confronted Kayla and her cronies without hesitation. Our pack was big, nearly 900 members, and school was brutal. I couldn't blend in, especially when my class had only forty students.







Lauren always seemed to know when I needed her. Even when they tried to isolate her, she fought back. Fierce and fearless, she was a fighter like Dad. He had always been impressed by her. She listened, she trained hard, and she phased early. Everyone said it was her Alpha blood showing.







I looked like my mother, wavy platinum hair, cornflower blue eyes, curvy. It made me a target. The boys liked how I looked, but none would claim me. A hybrid like me was taboo. I was the dirty secret no one wanted, and the whispers behind my back were cruel and constant.







Lauren was already at the train car, talking to a staff member holding a step stool. She glanced toward us, trying not to shout for us to hurry. We stopped running once inside the terminal, we couldn't afford to draw attention. We stood out already. All three of us were beautiful, but we didn't look alike.







Lauren was 5'10", lean and athletic, with straight golden-blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, a sign she was ready for a fight. Her hazel eyes shimmered with flecks of gold. She looked like her mother, strong and determined. Relief crossed her face as the man scanned our tickets and helped me up the steps.







Meliza stayed right beside me, an arm around my waist as we moved down the aisle to our seats. I was grateful they were benches, we could lie down. I planned to treat my leg as soon as I could. I didn't heal like they did. Meliza helped me settle. She was my height, 5'9". With our fathers brown hair and soft gray eyes. Sweet, kind, and the gentlest of us, Meliza avoided fights unless absolutely necessary. But I knew she had fire when it counted. She could surprise even Lauren.







She watched me with concern, and her gray eyes shimmered. I wanted to cry from the tenderness. We might be safe, for now, but we couldn't let our guard down. We had to take turns sleeping. The Blackwood Pack wouldn't give up. They would come for us.







I laid down, head on the bench, exhaustion washing over me. I had not truly slept in almost forty hours. I couldn't fight it anymore. I closed my eyes, and passed out.

Maya's POV 







I was having terrible dreams, ones that always started with the moment everything fell apart. I dreamt we were back at the pack house, right after my eighteenth birthday. Since I hadn't phased into my wolf, I was treated as lower than an Omega. They made sure I got every job they considered too disgusting for themselves. Every day, I scrubbed the toilets in the pack house. I also cleaned the public restrooms outside the dining hall, near the main living room, and the small arena used for events and meetings. Lucky me.







"Well, look who it is," I heard Kayla sneer from behind me as I scrubbed the last stall in the women's room. "It's the worthless bitch who can't even phase," Tanya mocked. "The curse of our pack," Emma added. "I wish your whore of a mother had taken you with her when she ran off with her tail between her legs."







"Don't talk about my mother," I said as I stood up and stepped away from the toilet. I remembered the last time they caught me in here, I couldn't fight them off, and they knew it. They always targeted my family, the one thing guaranteed to make me react.







"What are you going to do?" Kayla taunted, stepping closer. "You have no powers, no wolf. How exactly do you plan to stop us?"







They slammed me against the wall. Tanya and Emma grabbed my arms to pin me down. Kayla extended her claws, smiling that sick, jealous smile I had come to hate. She hated that Damien looked at me, even though I didn't want him. She didn't want to scare me today, she wanted to do real damage.







"Don't do this, Kayla," I said, forcing calm into my voice. "You'll get in trouble for this. I won't let you walk away unpunished. The Elders will hear about it."







That bought me ten seconds. Then she smirked. "Who would believe you, Maya? It'll be my word against yours. And Tanya and Emma will back me. No one wants you here, not even your own father. You're wolfless, that only leaves one explanation: you're a witch. No one feels safe with you around. I'm doing the whole pack a favor. You won't walk away today. You're better off dead."







"We would," a voice rang out. Lauren.







I looked toward the door. Lauren and Meliza stood there. They were only sixteen and fifteen at the time, no match physically for our attackers. Kayla, Tanya, and Emma were all my age. Only our family knew that Lauren had phased early. Meliza likely would, too, thanks to their Alpha blood. Our father used that fact to highlight how much of a disappointment I was.







Kayla didn't back down. She lunged forward, claws aimed for my neck. I felt them skim my skin before Lauren yanked her back. Lauren's right hand was clawed too, her grip iron-tight on Kayla's arm. I saw where Kayla had been aiming, she meant to slash my neck and let me bleed out.







Kayla screamed as Lauren's claws sank deeper into her arm, forcing her away. Then the door burst open. Gamma Bridget, Kayla's mother, stood in the doorway, shocked. "What the hell are you doing to my daughter?" she shrieked.







"Why didn't you help my sister when your ugly daughter attacked her?" Meliza snapped. "Or were you acting as lookout while she tried to kill her? Everyone knows Kayla wants to be Luna badly enough to kill her competition. But even if you killed her, Damien would still pine for her. We've even noticed he can't keep his eyes off Maya."







"Let her go! If you hurt her, I'll report you to the Alpha," Bridget hissed.







"Then tell your daughter's minions to release my sister first," Lauren said evenly. "I'll let go of Kayla when they let go of Maya. I may be young, but I know who I can and can't trust here."







"You're no better than that witch you call a sister," Bridget said coldly. "One day, you'll learn the hard way, you can't trust a witch. Not even in your own family."







"Let her go!" Kayla shrieked again, her arm still bleeding. Her wolf couldn't heal her with Lauren's claws embedded in her. Tanya and Emma hesitated, but finally released me, with one last shove into the wall. Lauren kept her promise and let go of Kayla.







Kayla clutched her arm, then stepped close to whisper in my ear. "It's not just me who wants you dead. Thank your sisters for now. But I'll get you, Maya. Damien won't choose you over me. Not in this lifetime." She turned to leave, but paused again.







"Lauren ," she said, her voice sharp with rage. "You made the wrong choice today. I'll make sure you regret it." Then the door closed behind her.







The threat was real. Kayla wanted me dead. And she wasn't the only one. I was powerless here, no wolf, no mentor to teach me how to be a witch. Even if someone had, the pack would have forced me out the moment I showed any power.







She was right. No one here wanted me. Not even my own father or stepmother. They didn't even pretend anymore.







I was only still here for my sisters. They were the only reason I got out of bed, the only light in my days. I had stayed to protect them, even without a wolf. I just wanted to be the big sister they deserved, strong enough to keep them safe, just like they protected me.